ANA Seminar and nearby fires

[DWLange]

I'm told that the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs made the national news last night. It's been the only news coverage here for days, so I thought that the coin community might be interested in a report of how things are going at the ANA Summer Seminar Session I.

 

I've been here since Saturday, along with NGC graders John Schuch and David Vagi. The fire was just starting when we arrived, but it has grown enormously and has already burned more than 130 homes. The fire is west and slightly north of Colorado College, where the seminar is held adjacent to the ANA headquarters. It doesn't seem that either facility is endangered, but it has made conditions here a bit unpleasant. Several ANA staff members and other numismatists in this area have been forced to evacuate their homes at some time or another this week. The U. S. Air Force Academy north of town has also been vacated. The popular train ride to the top of Pike's Peak was cancelled, since it leaves from one of the affected areas.

 

The campus housing at Colorado College began filling up with refugees last night, and it was a touching sight to see a young mother and her two children dragging their bags around the patio looking for the entrance to the quad units in which the instructors stay. Evidently, more evacuated persons will be arriving today.

 

The air is noticeably smoky. This, combined with the usual challenges presented by the altitude and aridity of Colorado Springs, has caused some minor breathing problems, and people and being advised to stay inside. I noticed that I was getting easily winded yesterday. While sitting in the popular Lunar Lounge, which is simply the patio area that faces the mountains, ash began to settle on my clothes, and a few scorched leaves fell nearby.

 

Classes are proceeding normally, but there is definitely a sense of anxiety. The usual afterhours ambience is lacking, and the aforementioned Lunar Lounge is strangely quiet after dark. Few people are gathering there to enjoy the beautiful Colorado sunsets, which this week are obscured by smoke and ash. Tall flames flare up on the ridgeline just west of town, and some seminar attendees have been successful in getting still photos and video of this dramatic sight.

 

I'm making the best of things, as are my fellow NGCers, but it's uncomfortable at times. We're determined to see it through, but I imagine that everyone will be a bit relieved when it's time to go home.

 

Please include your fellow numismatists who live and work in the Colorado Springs area in your thoughts. A lot of nice folks are in danger of losing their homes.

[RWB]

Thanks for the update, David!

 

Do you think the smoke and combustion gasses wil have any effect on the ANA's Museum collection?

[thebeav]

Thank you for the report.

 

It was quite disconcerting this morning on the news, when they reported that the blaze doubled in size over night.

 

Hope all fare well !

 

Paul

[ldhair]

Thanks. I was wondering if everything was ok.

[James_OldeTowne]

Please include your fellow numismatists who live and work in the Colorado Springs area in your thoughts. A lot of nice folks are in danger of losing their homes.

Most definitely. It reminds me of the Joplin tornado last year. Sadly and stupidly, I did not make the time to volunteer in the Joplin cleanup, but if it were possible there in Colorado, I would find a way to.

 

Keep safe, David.

[johnny9434]

Best wishes and many prayers to everyone involved. It is a terrible thing to see

[WoodenJefferson]

This picture was posted to my Facebook wall

 

 

For those of you familiar with the north side of Colorado Springs, the Air Force football stadium is in the foreground.

[DaveG]

Thanks for the update, David.

 

It sounds like it's a little eerie being there right now.

 

I hope everyone stays safe and the fire doesn't reach the College!

[John Maben]

Best of luck Dave. If at any point health becomes an issue, get out of Dodge.

 

John

[DWLange]

The air quality was better last night and remains so this morning, as the wind shifted away from the college. The fires are still burning, and a lot of people are prohibited from returning to their neighborhoods.

 

Among those evacutated were former ANA President Ken Hallenbeck, book dealer David Sklow and his wife, Susan McMillan, who manages the ANA seminar. David and Susan are back home now, but Ken and his wife are still displaced at this time. Also warned to evacuate was Mary Jo Meade, who does the layout for my books, but I've just heard from her that she can stay for now. I was invited to have dinner with a couple I met while researching my coin board book (his father published boards in 1937-41), but instead of a home-cooked meal it will now have to be at a restaurant, as they evacuated, too.

 

As I said above, things are much better here at the college and ANA headquarters, and they will remain so unless the wind shifts. The ANA building has excellent environmental control, and I'm confident that its coins are unaffected.

 

Thanks for all the good wishes. The folks who live here will need them far more than I.

[johnny9434]

my prayers are still with you guys out there, please be safe.

[DWLange]

Update: The fires are still burning, but they are moving north and away from the city. Over 350 homes have burned, mostly in alpine neighborhoods on the fringe of Colorado Springs. Ken and June Hallenbeck were cleared to return to their home. I mistakenly said that David Sklow and Susan McMillan had to evacuate; they were warned that they might have to leave, but the crisis passed in their area. My other friends in CS are also now out of danger.

 

The air is still smoky, but not nearly as bad as it was a couple days ago. The seminar graduation ceremony went off last night without any problems, and many students and instructors are on their way home today. I'm sticking around another day for the annual coin show here, which is always excellent.

 

Anyone scheduled to attend Session II of the ANA Seminar should not be concerned about the situation. Unless there's a completely unpredictable change of events, the college campus and ANA headquarters are in no danger. Just don't expect to watch anything on television other than continuous coverage of the fires; the local media seem to have suspended all other news reporting.